Svanhilda Ealdgyd

Svanhilda Ealdgyd
"If I should be an abandoner and a heretic, I should at least take pride in those titles. I have no regrets, no remorse. I would do it again, a thousand times over, if I had to. I would not hesitate."
Gender	Female
Race	Roegadyn
Clan	Hellsguard
Citizenship	Gridania
Age	45
Sexuality	Pansexual
Occupation	Free Lance
Height/Weight	7'3" / 336 ponze
Birthdate	---
Patron Diety	Halone

An ex-soldier who has resigned herself to a life of charity and mercenary work in the wake of the Calamity. Her friendly, easygoing demeanor masks a righteous fury and an aggressive sense of honor. Courageous and confrontational, Svanhilda is not at all afraid to speak her mind against the unjust and raise her lance in defense of the downtrodden. Those she allies herself to find themselves in the company of a loyal friend, but her unapologetic outspokenness has also earned her a number of enemies.

Basic Info

Likes ■ Hunting ■ Chocobos ■ Cross stitching ■ Floral patterns ■ A challenge

Dislikes ■ Dragons ■ Gingham ■ Hypocrites, Liars, and Thieves ■ Zealots

Other ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Appearance & Personality

A veritable mountain of a woman, Svanhilda stands tall and proud, even taller than many Hellsguard men, with a lean, long, broad shouldered build. Her skin is a very dark umber brown, contrasted starkly by her short cropped, snow white hair and deep set, piercing, icy blue eyes. Her face is rather shapely, with well defined cheekbones and a somewhat strong jaw for a woman. She has a wide mouth that seems to split her face nearly all the way across when she laughs. Her resting face can look rather serious, or even angry. Coupled with her height and the sharpness of her eyes, her appearance may come off as being very fierce and intimidating.

Svanhilda will periodically use intimidation to her advantage, but on the whole, she is a very pleasant and sociable individual. In contrast to the image of the hard, brash mercenary type of Hellsguard commonly seen in Ul'Dah, she has a much more 'proper' manner when conducting herself with others. She is a polite, well-spoken, and attentive conversation partner. She comes off rather relaxed and seems to be equally comfortable in large groups, in small groups, and while completely alone. Her approach to new situations seems to be to roll with it and see how things turns out, and she takes a genuine interest in the individuals she meets by doing this. In spite of her friendliness, there still seems to be a certain distance she prefers to maintain, and even when working in groups of others, she values her independence and prefers doing things by herself.

In spite of her cordial ways, Svanhilda also has a legendary temper and has little qualm with freely expressing it. She will be quick to express her criticism of others' behavior, or to make her suspicions of others' intentions clear (when she has them), and all regard for manners or authority quickly vanishes whenever see sees an authority figure do something she perceives as being 'wrong'. She takes lies and deception very seriously and has a severely low tolerance for either. Bridges have been burned and friendships have been broken over Svanhilda finding out about a lie. She is adamant in her honesty, and in her own words, 'cannot deny when faced with the truth'. Her near militant aggression over truthtelling is perhaps a result of her upbringing, and it has gotten her into trouble many, many times.

Although often found wearing her armor or in working clothes, Svanhilda also has rather feminine sensibilities and enjoys events where she can dress up a little. She works with fabric and leather recreationally, and has made herself many of the clothes that she wears to such events. Svanhilda is particularly strong of floral prints and designs that evoke images of nature, however, she absolutely cannot stand plaid or gingham, and ABSOLUTELY has no taste for tacky metallic textures. She prefers to wear darker colors, particularly navy blues and dark greys, but she will occasionally also sport shades of pink or dark reds.

Known History

A veteran following the Battle of Carteneau, Svanhilda previously offered her lance to the Order of the Twin Adders to aid in Eorzea's defense. Although she survived, she was not among those who mysteriously vanished as the battle reached its climax.

Her memories surrounding the conclusion of the battle are hazy at best, but her clearest rememberings are of the aftermath. Svanhilda remained in the service of the Adders in order to assist in salvaging the bodies of the dead, returning them to their homes, and searching for those unaccounted for. However, the following dispute over the Allagan ruins exposed in the wake of the Calamity disenchanted Svanhilda to the Adders' cause, and she resigned from her duties when she felt there was nothing more she could do.

Since her departure, she has resigned herself to a quieter life as a Free Lance, taking up hunting jobs, working as a bodyguard, and donating whatever gil or services she can towards charitable causes.

This is the most that Svanhilda will speak openly of, unless prodded for more.

Miscellaneous

Rumors Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard) ■ "She regularly volunteers to distribute medical supplies and rations to struggling refugees. I haven't had any issues with her. She actually keeps proper inventory of what she distributes." -- Dunesfolk woman with a clipboard ■ "I don't think she's from around here. I don't think she's from Ul'Dah, either. Maybe she came from Limsa Lominsa?" -- Stumped Wood Wailer ■ "Sometimes she shows up to help cull down the beastkin populations in the Twelveswood. You could tell her to hunt anything, from squirrels to Morbols, and she would do it all the same. I've never known her to turn down an assignment." -- Wood Wailer ◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear) ■ "That big lady? Listen, she's not right. I have never seen her wear a proper winter coat. Never. It was the dead middle of winter and she was wearing a sleeveless vest with nothing underneath. And SHORTS. Honest to Gods, SHORTS. That shit isn't natural. She didn't even look a bit bothered by the cold. AND IT WAS SNOWING!" -- A very disgruntled Miqo ■ "If you really want to see her freak out, wave a torch at her. She goes completely ballistic." -- Bar patron, The Drowning Wench ■ "So I heard one lady say that she cut off a dude's hand because he stole from her, and then I heard this other guy say she sleeps with stuffed animals. I don't know. Make of that what you will." -- Mostly disinterested Midlander ■ "I think I remember her. She showed up out of the blue right before the battle of Carteneau. She was one of the ones who actually came back afterwards. You remember the ones who came back." -- Retired Adder Lieutenant ◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard) ■ "She spat right in the face of some small time crimelord who was running some kind of black market racket with, uh...medicine, I think. Literally, spat in his face and caused a huge scene. I also heard she took out the guy's three main goons at the same time. I wouldn't mess with her." - Duskwight merchant. ■ "I hear there's a warrant for her arrest in Ishgard." - Gossipy Adder soldier ◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players) ■ ■ ■ ■

Relations ♥ Romantic Interest    ♥ Platonic Love     ● Good Standing   ● Uncertain Standing   ● Neutral Standing   ● Poor Standing ♥ Gale : Svanhilda's chocobo companion. Just as big and steadfast as one would expect, Gale is no stranger to danger and often accompanies Svanhilda into treacherous areas. ● Helios Daima : A fragile boy, but with a good heart. It will be interesting to see what he's capable of. ● Flute Reyrmor : Svanhilda appreciates her moxie. ● Parsinald Lionborn : She has no reason to dislike him. ● Willas West : It's easy to find a sense of solidarity among veterans.

Gallery

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Footnotes

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